Method of manufacturing electrical connector receptacles

ABSTRACT

A method of manufacturing an electrical connector of the telephone jack type by insert molding, is disclosed. The conductors for the connector jack are first stamped and formed in continuous strip form from conductive sheet metal with the continuous strip having groups of conductors extending therefrom and spaced along the length of the strip. The strip is fed to an injection molding apparatus and the leading set of conductors of the strip is clamped in the mold of the apparatus in a manner such that the contact portions of the conductors are held between core pins. These core pins extend into the mold cavity so that when the plastic material fills the mold, intermediate portions of the conductors will be embedded in the molding material. When the mold is opened, the core pins are withdrawn from the cavity, the core pins having formed the plug-receiving opening in the telephone jack.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 969,504 filed Dec. 14, 1978,now U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,628, issued Nov. 4, 1980.

DESCRIPTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to electrical connector receptacles of the typewhich are intended to receive connector plugs. Connector receptacles ofthis general class are described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497.

2. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497 described in detail a connector receptacle of atype which is intended for use in the telephone industry. The receptacledescribed in this patent comprises an insulating housing having a plugreceiving end and a plug-receivingopening extending into theplug-receiving end. A plurality of circular openings extend through thehousing from the plug-receiving end to the rearward end of the housingand contact springs extending from these circular openings diagonallyinto the plug-receiving opening so that when a plug is inserted into thereceptacle, the contact members on the plug will engage the contactsprings. The contact springs are in the form of wires and are connectedby means of crimped electrical connections to lead wires.These crimpedconnections are contained in the circular openings in the housing andthe lead wires extend from the circular openings and away from thehousing at the rearward end thereof. The commonly used type of connectorplug which is intended to be mated with connector receptacles of thetype described above is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,320.

The connector receptacle described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497 has beenwidely adopted in the telephone industry and it is being used to anincreasing extent on equipment other than telephone equipment, forexample, data processing equipment which may be installed adjacent to atelephone exchange, small computers, and similar equipment. The use ofthese connector receptacles in such related equipment often requiresthat the receptacle be mounted on a circuit board, but the connectorreceptacle shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497 cannot be readily or easilyconnected to conductors on a circuit board.

Commonly assigned application Ser. No. 940,536 and now U.S. Pat. No.4,221,458 discloses and claims a connector receptacle of the generalclass which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497, and which isdimensioned to receive a connector plug as described in U.S. Pat. No.3,954,320. The receptacle disclosed in application Ser. No. 940,536 hasstamped and formed electrical conductors therein rather than the wiretype conductors of U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497 and one end of each stampedand formed conductor extends beyond the housing of the connector so thatthe connector can be mounted on a circuit board with the ends of theconductors extending into openings in the circuit board. These ends ofthe conductors can then be soldered to conductors on the circuit boardin the usual manner. The stamped and formed conductors shown inapplication Ser. No. 940,536 are assembled to the connector housing byinsertion of intermediate portions of the conductors into side-by-sidedepressions or channels in one of the external sidewalls of the housing.One end of each conductor is reversely bent so that it extends into theplug-receiving opening and these ends serve as contact springs which arecontacted by contact members in an inserted plug.

It would be desirable under some circumstances to have the intermediateportions of the conductors completely enclosed in the housing ratherthan inserted into channels in the external surface of the housing. Theinserted conductors are highly satisfactory for many circumstances ofuse but there are some circumstances where enclosed connectors would bepreferred in order to achieve improved dielectric characteristics and toprotect the conductors from the atmosphere or from foreign matter suchas dust particles. There are also circumstances under which it would bedesirable to provide non-current carrying metallic posts in the externalsidewall of the housing for soldering to metallized surface portions ofthe circuit board in order to permit mounting of the housing on thecircuit board securely independently of the mechanical connection whichis achieved by the soldered conductors. This requirement exists incritical applications and/or when the receptacle is mounted on a circuitboard under circumstances such that the housing might be subjected toabusive handling.

The present invention is directed to the achievement of a connectorreceptacle of the general class described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497which all satisfy the requirements of completely enclosed conductors inthe housing and metallic mounting posts for securing the housing to thecircuit board. The invention is also directed to the achievement of animproved manufacturing process for producing receptacles which satisfythese same requirements.

A preferred embodiment of the invention comprises an insulating housinghaving side-by-side conductors insert-molded in wall portions of thehousing, the wall portions being between one of the internal sidewallsof the plug-receiving opening and the adjacent external sidewall. Firstend portions of the conductors emerge from the internal sidewall at alocation adjacent to the plug-receiving end of the housing, extenddiagonally into the opening, and serve as contact springs. The otherends of the conductors emerge from the adjacent external sidewall andmay extend normally from this sidewall or normally from the rearward endof the housing depending upon the intended orientation of the housing ona circuit board. Metallic mounting posts are also imbedded in thehousing and extend from the adjacent external sidewall at locationsproximate to the external endwalls so that the ends of the conductorsare between the mounting posts. When the housing is mounted on a circuitboard with the ends of the conductors soldered to conductors on thecircuit board and with the ends of the mounting posts soldered tometallized (but non-current carrying) areas on the circuit board, themounting posts serve to protect the soldered conductors against lateralforces which might be otherwise transmitted to the soldered conductorswhen the housing is subjected to applied external forces, as by handlingor otherwise.

The connector receptacle is manufactured by producing a continuous stripcomprising spaced-apart carrier strips and transversely extendingconductors and mounting post blanks at regularly spaced intervals. Thisstrip is continuous fed into a forming press in which the conductors andthe mounting posts are formed by forming dies into their final shape.The strip is then fed from the forming press into an injection moldingapparatus in which the housing is molded onto the strip so that acontinuous strip of housings is produced by the molding apparatus. Theindividual housings may be severed from this strip or the housings maybe maintained in strip form in order to facilitate further processingsuch as insertion by automatic machinery into circuit boards.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector receptacle in accordancewith the invention mounted on a circuit board and showing a connectorplug in alignment with the plug-receiving opening in the connectorreceptacle.

FIG. 2 is a frontal view of the connector receptacle.

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view taken along the lines 3--3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a section of continuous sheet metal strip ofconductors and mounting post blanks.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the strip illustrating shearing and formingoperations which are performed on the strip prior to molding of thereceptacle housing.

FIG. 6 is a view taken along the lines 6--6 of FIG. 5 showing theprofile of the strip.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating one manufacturing process forproducing connector receptacles.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the two parts of a moldfor producing housings by injection molding, this view showing the moldparts in their open condition.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 but with the mold parts closed.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which theinsulating housings are molded onto the terminal strip.

PRACTICE OF THE INVENTION

FIG.1 shows a connector receptacle 2 in accordance with the inventionmounted on a circuit board 4 and serving to provide connections betweenconductors in a cable 6 and conductors 10 on the underside of thecircuit board. The cable 6 has a plug 8 on its end of the general typedescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,320. As explained in U.S. Pat. No.3,954,320, the conductors in the cable 6 are electrically connected tospaced-apart terminals in the plug. The terminals have edge portionswhich are exposed on the underside 9 of the plug so that when the plugis inserted into the receptacle, these edge portions of the terminals inthe plug will engage spring contacts in the connector receptacle 2.

The receptacle 2 comprises an insulating housing 11 having aplug-receiving end 12, a rearward end 14, and having a plug-receivingopening 16 which extends from the plug-receiving end to the rearwardend. This opening is contoured to receive the plug as will be apparentfrom an inspection of FIG. 1.

The opening 16 has lower and upper internal sidewalls 18, 20 andinternal endwalls 22. A centrally located ramp 24 is provided in theupper sidewall 20 to provide clearance for the leading end of the plug 8and shoulders 26 are provided on each side of this ramp adjacent to theendwalls 22. These shoulders cooperate with shoulders 23 on a latch arm25 of the plug to retain the plug in the opening after insertion.

The housing has lower and upper external sidewalls 28, 30 and externalendwalls 32. A continuous flange 34 is provided on the endwalls 32 andthe upper sidewall 30 adjacent to the mating end 12. This flange isintended to bear against the surface of a panel when the receptacle ismounted on a circuit board and where a panel extends normally of thesurface of the circuit board.

A plurality of side-by-side spaced-apart stamped and formed conductors36 are imbedded in the housing and have first end portions 38 whichemerge from the internal sidewall 18 as shown at 40 at a locationadjacent to, but spaced from, the mating end 12. The first end portions38 of these conductors extend diagonally from sidewall 18 away from thissidewall and towards the rearward end of the housing. These first ends38 serve as spring contacts and are flexed downwardly and enterside-by-side recesses 39 in the sidewall 18 when the plug is insertedinto the opening.

Intermediate portions 42, 44 of each conductor 36 are imbedded in thehousing between the internal and external sidewalls 18, 28. Theseintermediate portions extend downwardly as shown at 42 from the sidewall18 and then rearwardly as shown at 44 towards the rearward end 14 of thehousing. Each conductor is bent downwardly at 46, extends downwardly inthe housing as shown at 48 and emerges from the external sidewall 28 toprovide an exposed end 49 which is intended for soldering to a conductoron the circuit board 4. The ends 49 are staggered as shown by bendingevery other conductor rearwardly as shown at 50, recesses 52 beingprovided in the sidewall 28 for these bent portions. The projecting ends49 of the conductors thus all extend normally from the sidewall 28 butare staggered with reference to each other.

Non-current carrying metallic mounting and supporting posts 54 areimbedded in the housing adjacent to the external endwall 32 so that theends 49 of the conductors are between the mounting posts 54. Eachmounting post has a rightwardly formed, as viewed in the drawing, upperend 56 imbedded in the housing to ensure that it will be firmly heldtherein. The lower external sidewall 28 also has integral standoff ribs58 which support the housing above the surface of the circuit boardduring soldering, thereby to prevent flow of solder onto the uppersurface of the board.

Referring now to FIGS. 4-10, receptacles 2 in accordance with theinvention are manufactured by first producing a stamped continuous strip60 comprising spaced-apart parallel carrier strips 62, 64 having atperiodic intervals transversely extending groups 66 of conductor blanks36' and support post blanks 54' with the spacing between adjacentconductor blanks 36' being the same as the spacing between theconductors 36 in the connector receptacle. The support post blanks 54'are also spaced from the immediately adjacent conductor blanks 36' bythe same distance as that which exists in the connector. The conductorblanks 36' may be left flat or they might be formed to a slightlyarcuate cross-section, if desired. Alternate conductor blanks 36' haverelatively narrow neck portions 70 which are adjacent to, but spacedfrom, the carrier strip 64 and the remaining conductor blanks have neckportions 68 which are immediately adjacent to the carrier strip 64.During manufacture, the conductors are severed from the carrier strip 64at these neck portions and since two different lengths of conductors arerequired in the connector, by reason of the offset relationship of theends 49 of the conductors, the necks 68, 70 are at different locationsrelative to the carrier strip 64. The support post blanks 54' also havereduced width necks as shown and these blanks are severed from thecarrier strip at these neck portions.

When connectors are manufactured by the method illustrated in thediagrammatic view of FIGS. 7 and 10, the flat strip of FIG.4 is producedin a first stamping operation, wound on a reel 98, and transported tothe location at which the housings are molded onto the strip 60. Thestrip 60 is fed through a forming press diagrammatically illustrated at100 in which the carrier strip 62 is severed from the ends of theconductor blanks 36' and the support post blanks 54' are severed asshown at 72 at locations spaced from the carrier strip 64. After thesevering operation has been carried out in the forming press 100, theconductor blanks 36' and the support post blanks 54' are formed to theirfinal profile as shown in FIG. 6 with the carrier strip 64 integral withthe lower ends of the formed conductors and support posts. The supportposts are offset from the plane of the carrier strip 64 as shown in FIG.6. The carrier strip 64 in its final form thus has a plurality of groupsof conductors 36 extending therefrom at spaced intervals, each groupcontaining the number of conductors required for a single connectorreceptacle along with the associated support posts 54.

Thereafter, the strip is fed to a molding machine 102 and the housingsare molded onto the strip in a mold shown in FIGS. 8-10. The mold 74comprises two parts 76, 78 which are movable from their open position,FIG. 8, to their closed positions, FIGS. 9 and 10, in which theiropposed sufaces are against each other along parting lines 80, 82. Theopposed faces have recesses which define a mold cavity 84 which conformsto the connector housing and a sprue 86 extends to this cavity throughwhich the thermoplastic material is injected into the cavity. Moldingmaterial is injected into the sprue by a nozzle 6' of a suitable moldingmachine.

Core pins 88, 90 mounted in the mold parts 76, 78, respectively, extendinto the cavity and engage each other when the mold parts are closed asshown in FIG. 9. The opposed surfaces of the core pins are inclined asshown at 90, 92 and have recesses which receive the ends 38 of theconductors so that the intermediate portions of the conductor 42, 44, 48extend through the cavity below the core pins and downwardly as viewedin the FIG. 9, along the parting line 80. The parting line has a recessfor reception of these lower portions of the conductors and the carrierstrip. The mold parts are also contoured at the parting line such thatthe offset mounting posts 54, which are integral with the carrier strip64 at this stage of the manufacturing process will be clamped as shownin FIG. 9 in offset relationship to the plane defined by the lowerportions of the conductors and the carrier strip 64.

Strip feeding means are provided for advancing the strip during eachmolding cycle by an amount such that a group of conductors and itsassociated mounting posts will be located between the mold parts 76, 78after feeding so that when the mold parts are closed, the conductors andthe mounting posts will be precisely positioned in the mold cavity andthe contact spring portions of the conductors will be held between thesurfaces 90, 92 of the core pins as shown in FIG. 9. The moldingmaterial is then injected into the cavity through the sprue 82, the moldparts are moved to their open position, and the strip is advanced. Thehousings may be molded of any suitable thermoplastic material such as apolycarbonate, or a filled nylon material.

If desired, the continuous strip comprising the carrier strip 64 havingthe housings molded thereon at spaced intervals may be maintained as astrip and wound on a reel 104 for further processing, such as insertioninto circuit boards by automatic machinery. The offset ends 49 wouldthen be bent into grooves 52 at the time of insertion. Alternatively,the individual connector receptacles can be severed from the strip byshearing the conductors and the offset mounting posts 54 from thecarrier strip and bending the offset ends 49.

Connector receptacles, in accordance with the invention, arecharacterized by the fact that the intermediate portions of theconductors 42, 44 are totally imbedded in the housing and are therebyprotected from the atmosphere or from damage during handling.Furthermore, the mating end 12 of the housing may have a flat surfacecompletely surrounding the plug-receiving opening 16 rather than, aswith previous receptacles of the general class, a recess extending tothe reversely formed portions 42 of the conductors. These featuresrender receptacles in accordance with the invention extremely durableand well-suited for use in critical applications where they must beprotected against damage. It will be apparent from FIG. 2 that thesoldered connections between the ends of the conductors and thereceptacle and the conductors on the circuit board are protected by thesoldered connections between the mounting posts 54 and the metallizedportions of the circuit board. Should a lateral force be applied to thehousing as shown in FIG. 2, tending to rock the housing relative to thecircuit board, the effects of this force will be absorbed by themounting post 54 and will not be transmitted to the soldered electricalconnections between the conductors and the circuit board conductors.

What is claimed:
 1. A method of making electrical connector receptaclesof the type comprising an insulating housing havng a plug-receiving endand a rearward end, a plug-receiving opening extending into saidplug-receiving end, said opening having opposed internal sidewalls andopposed internal endwalls, said housing having oppositely directedexternal sidewalls and oppositely directed external endwalls, aplurality of electrical conductors with each of said conductors havingan intermediate portion in side-by-side spaced-apart relationship, eachof said conductors comprising a first end which serves as a contactspring extending from one of said internal sidewalls diagonally intosaid opening and towards said rearward end, an intermediate portionextending from said plug-receiving end through said housing between saidone internal sidewall and the adjacent external sidewall and towardssaid rearward end, and a second end which extends externally of saidhousing, said plug-receiving opening being dimensioned to receive aconnector plug having spaced-apart contact members therein which engagesaid contact springs, said method comprising the steps of:stamping acontinuous strip of conductive sheet metal to produce a continuous stripcomprising a carrier strip having groups of blanks for said conductorsextending therefrom at spaced intervals with the number of conductorblanks in each group being equal to the number of conductors in saidconnector receptacle, feeding said strip through a forming die andforming said conductor blanks to the shape of said conductors in saidconnector receptacle, intermittently feeding said strip to a moldingapparatus having a mold cavity which conforms to the shape of saidhousing and having core pins in said mold cavity which conform to theshape of said plug-receiving opening, positioning one of said groups offormed conductors in said cavity with said contact portions of saidconductors held between said core pins, injecting molding material intosaid cavity, opening said mold, and feeding said strip whereby,saidstrip, when it emerges from said mold, has connector housings molded oneach of said groups of conductors with molding material surrounding saidintermediate portions of said conductors.
 2. The method set forth inclaim 1 including the step of severing said conductors from said carrierstrip after said strip is fed from said mold.
 3. The method set forth inclaim 1, said connector receptacles each having two metallic mountingposts extending from said housing with said second ends of saidconductors being between said mounting posts, said method including thesteps of forming two mounting post blanks for each of said groups ofconductors during stamping of said strip with said conductor blanks ofeach group between said mounting post blanks.
 4. A method of makingelectrical connector receptacles of the type comprising an insulatinghousing having a plug-receiving end and a rearward end, a plug-receivingopening extending into said plug-receiving end, said opening havingopposed internal sidewalls and opposed internal endwalls, said housinghaving oppositely directed external sidewalls and oppositely directedexternal endwalls, a plurality of electrical conductors havingintermediate portions in side-by-side spaced-apart relationship, each ofsaid conductors comprising a first end which serves as a contact springextending from one of said internal sidewalls diagonally into saidopening and towards said rearward end, an intermediate portion extendingfrom said plug-receiving end through said housing between said oneinternal sidewall and the adjacent external sidewall and towards saidrearward end, and a second end which extends externally of said housing,said plug-receiving opening being dimensioned to receive a connectorplug having spaced-apart contact members therein which engage saidcontact springs, said method comprising the steps of:stamping acontinuous strip of conductive sheet metal to produce a continuous stripcomprising a carrier strip having groups of blanks for said conductorsextending therefrom at spaced intervals with the number of conductorblanks in each group being equal to the number of conductors in saidconnector receptacle, feeding said strip through a forming die andforming said conductor blanks to the shape of said conductors in saidconnector receptacle, intermittently feeding said strip to a moldingapparatus comprising two mold parts which are movable against each otherto form a mold cavity, each mold part having a core pin extending intothe mold cavity, positioning one of said groups of conductors betweensaid mold parts and clamping said first ends of said conductors betweensaid core pins and clamping said carrier strip and said second ends ofsaid conductors between said mold parts, injecting molding material intosaid cavity and thereby surrounding said intermediate portions of saideach group of blanks, moving said mold parts away from each other, andfeeding said strip to feed a molded housing on said strip from saidmolding apparatus.